Raccoon Found on Jolly Pond Road Tests Positive for Rabies

A raccoon found on the 2000 block of Jolly Pond Road in James City County has tested positive for rabies.

Anyone with information regarding exposure to the animal — including a bite, scratch or contact with saliva via open wound or eyes, nose or mouth — should contact the Health Department at the Peninsula Health District’s Williamsburg Environmental Health by calling 603-4277. After hours calls should be directed to Animal Control at 253-1800.

Exposure can also include direct contact between a pet and the rabid animal.

Rabies is carried by mammals and has been on the Peninsula since the mid-1980s; it is fatal, but preventable. Citizens can protect themselves and their pets from rabies by:

Vaccinating pets

Reporting all animal exposures, including bites and scratches, to a doctor and the local health department

Do not feed wild animals — including raccoons, skunks and foxes — or encourage them to come onto property near homes

Do not feed pets outside, leave trash uncovered to do anything that could attract wild animals.